The Biggest Deal: Andy Mills, CCIM & Andrew Jameson, CCIM

In a market where office deals are taking longer and requiring more creativity than ever, a $33,716,531 lease transaction in Columbus, Ohio, stands out, and not just for its size, but for its ingenuity. 

Representing the tenant, Safelite, was Andy Mills, CCIM, SIOR, of Elford Realty, while Andrew Jameson, CCIM, SIOR, of Colliers, represented ownership. The result? A transformative headquarters deal featuring a steel-and-glass “double sky bridge” connecting two Class B office buildings at one of the city’s busiest interchanges. 

A Long Road to the Right Solution 
“This was not your normal deal,” Jameson said. “It seemed like we had to win the deal two or three times.” 

Safelite, whose headquarters has long been in Columbus, engaged Mills and his team more than three years before the final agreement. The assignment was clear but complex: evaluate every possible option- from build-to-suit opportunities to reposition existing vacant office buildings- while leadership assessed what a post-pandemic workplace should look like. 

“We thoroughly vetted the market,” Mills explained. “We explored virtually every viable option on the north side of the city. What became clear very quickly was that each building offered different efficiencies and limitations. At the same time, we had to be careful not to box ourselves in. If the return-to-office momentum continued and more employees chose to come back, we needed the ability to expand. Once flexibility became a priority, the pool of realistic options narrowed quickly.” 

For nearly 18 months, the process shifted from quiet exploration to active touring. Meanwhile, like many companies navigating remote and hybrid work, Safelite wrestled with one central question: how much space would they truly need? 

That uncertainty stalled many office decisions across the market. But in this case, persistence and partnership paid off. 

The Double Sky Bridge 
Ultimately, Safelite chose to remain in place but with a reimagined look at the space. 

The company previously occupied one full building and two floors of another, with its C-suite separated from the rest of the workforce. Leadership had to travel between buildings, either outdoors or via a lower-level connection. Meanwhile, several upper floors were outdated, former call center spaces with raised flooring that no longer fit Safelite’s needs. 

Rather than fully renovating three outdated floors, the Safelite team proposed something bold: construct a steel-and-glass sky bridge connecting the top two floors of both buildings. 

“It’s a steel-and-glass connector between the fourth and fifth floors of both buildings,” Mills said. “It’s climate-controlled, with seating areas designed for collaboration.” 

The bridge even includes an internal stairwell, creating seamless vertical and horizontal connectivity, a physical symbol of the company’s renewed commitment to collaboration and in-person culture. 

“From a cost perspective, it ended up being cheaper to add the bridge than it did to renovate three existing floors,” Mills explained. 

The result is a highly visible architectural feature at the intersection of I-270 and Sawmill Road; an area Jameson estimates sees approximately 150,000 to 160,000 vehicles per day. 

“The bridge put a spotlight on a Class B building that people were aware of, but hadn’t really paid attention to before,” Mills said.  

Lessons in Perseverance and Professionalism 
If there’s a theme for this deal, it’s perseverance. 

“Every deal is harder. Every deal takes longer,” Mills said. “And when you have collaboration and creative thinking on all sides, that’s how deals get done.” 

The brokers leaned heavily on their long-standing relationship- more than 20 years in the making- and their shared CCIM training. That foundation helped them navigate complicated financial modeling, building valuation considerations, and long-term refinancing implications without missing a beat. 

“It’s great working with another CCIM because they understand what it’s like from the other side,” Jameson said. “I didn’t have to explain it.” 

Mills added, “You have a more like-minded mindset when you approach the deal… It’s about mutual understanding of where the other person’s client is coming from.” 

Late-night calls, shifting proposals, and multiple competitive threats required steady communication and trust. At several points, it appeared the deal might fall apart. 

A Signal for the Office Market 
The Safelite headquarters renewal is more than a single transaction. It reflects a broader shift in Columbus, where return-to-office momentum is building, and large employers are once again making long-term commitments. 

As Jameson observed, companies that once delayed decisions are now clearer about their space needs: “Now that they know, they’re saying, ‘okay, we’ve put this off long enough. Let’s go find the space that better suits our needs.’” 

For Columbus, already buoyed by major economic development wins and a diverse Fortune 1000 presence, the deal sends a message: creative reinvestment can compete with new construction and, sometimes, even outshine it. 

And in this case, it quite literally bridges the gap between the past and future. 

This is the biggest deal submitted to The CCIM Institute last quarter, one of many featured in our Market Makers. If you’ve closed a transaction and would like to be featured in an issue of CCIM Digital Connections, submit your deal for consideration.